Chasing For Real
by Tuz Farkinca
Summary: As planned by Alice, the Cullens are having one large game of tag to celebrate Leap Day, with the whole world as their playing field. What happens when something goes horribly wrong?
1. Chapter 1

I am guilty of falling to the fever of publishing a story on Feb. 29. So, I present to you, this story. And to make thing clear, Bella has been changed for around 25 years. And the whole story isn't going to be like the first chapter- it'll get more serious.

* * *

The day was dawning as Edward and I returned to the house after hunting. We were both in good moods- he had gotten that mountain lion, and I'd managed to get a big elk. 

Edward groaned. "Bella, do you know the date?"

"Um, no. Why? What is it?" I replied. We didn't really care about time anymore- we had an eternity together. We celebrated some days, like our wedding anniversary, but that was about it.

"Well, Alice has realized it's Leap Day today. And she's set her mind to preparing something big and over the top."

I gulped. I still remembered the last leap day we let Alice plan, 20 years ago. She firmly believed Leap Day was a day to things you'd normally never do, which was how we'd all found ourselves involved in extreme sports- boulder throwing contests, avalanche surfing, and tree jousting. We were lucky that we were living in the far north at that time, away from humans, or the Volturi probably would have paid a visit.

"What's she planning this time?" I asked nervously. I still remembered, all to clearly, the results of me being paired with Emmett for tree jousting.

"You'll hear soon enough. But don't worry, it's not as bad as the last one." He rubbed my pale hand soothingly.

We walked into the house, an almost exact replica of the one that had been in Forks. The rest of the family was already seated around the dining room table, with Alice at the head.

"Oh good," she said as she saw us walking in. "You're right on time, we're having a family meeting. About Leap Day. Want to know the event?"

I dropped into a chair. "Why not? I'll find out anyway."

Alice smiled and clapped her hands. "We're going to be playing a worldwide game of tag!"

"Tag!?" spluttered Emmett. "What happened to extreme sports? Those were fun!"

"Only for you," Jasper pointed out.

Alice cleared her throat. "Sports WERE fun, but we've been there done that. This will last longer, anyway. The whole week." Her eyes glittered excitedly. "One couple will be 'it', and have to hunt one of the other couples down. No tag-backs- so if Jasper and I tagged Rosalie and Emmett, they'd have to go after Edward and Bella or Carlisle and Esme. Everyone can go anywhere; though keeping away from Volterra would probably be a good idea. Once someone new is 'it', the other players must be informed by cell phone."

Right away, Edward asked, "How about using our powers?"

"Well, we can't really turn off your mind reading or my visions, so powers will be allowed."

I couldn't quite believe that in less than 10 minutes my entire plans for the next week were changed. "So, we're actually going to chase each other around the world?"

"Yup!" Alice replied. "Jasper and I will be it first. The rest of you have one hour to pack, and then an eight-hour head start to get running. May the best team win!"

"This is rather sudden, Alice," Carlisle pointed out.

"Not really. I've been planning since last year," Alice replied. "I just.._maybe_...forgot to tell you all until today. I've gotton too used to not thinking about it so Edward wouldn't pick it up."

No one had anything better to do, and everyone else was starting to get excited over the idea of tracking their family around the world. So, the game had begun.

Two hours later, Edward and I were on a plane, heading far away from the house. We were going for Paris- it was supposed to be cloudy.

I was barely breathing. I'd only been on a plane once before, and all the humans, pulsing with blood in the enclosed space, was hard on my self-control.

Edward noticed. "Don't worry, the flight will be over soon. And this game will be fun. Between my mind-reading and your barriers, we'll never get tagged," he said, soft enough for no human to hear.

I knew he was right. When I had been changed, I gained the ability to erect invisible walls. No one had been able to touch my mind before, and now no one could touch my body either, if I didn't want them too.

"But Alice will see our every move."

He sighed. "That's true. Too bad we aren't on good terms with werewolves-we could have hidden there. But she'll probably go after the couples without supernatural powers."

I laughed, and relaxed.

We got to Paris without incident. We strolled straight out- we were flying light, with only carry-ons. We then proceeded to make ourselves comfortable. We rented a nice hotel room, and picked up tourist pamphlets, most graced with a cover picture of the Eiffel Tower. They were packed with things to do while waiting. Edward had also gotten a list of nearby wildlife parks.

After settling in and changing clothes, we went to one of the wildlife parks to hunt. As we traveled back to the hotel, eyes golden, the cell phone in my pocket went off. "That was fast- I wonder who's been tagged?" I mused.

I flipped open the phone, to see a text message waiting for me.

'B and E are now it.'


	2. Chapter 2

Well, my parents thought Fan Fiction was a spam site, after they found 20 e-mails...aka Alerts for me. Thanks for the great reaction, and enjoy the next chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own Twillightt. (See, spelled it wrong. If I owned it, I cold probably spell it right.)

* * *

I stared at the text message. What? We hadn't seen Alice and Jasper, let alone been tagged. Edward hadn't even picked up any of their thoughts.

I checked the phone number it came from. Maybe some other group of people had decided to play tag around the world. And they communicated the tagging with phones. And they had initials of B and E. And they had just entered the wrong number…

I double-checked, triple-checked. It was most certainly Alice and Jasper's number.

Edward picked up on my shock. "Bella, what is it?"

"The text message says we're it, and it's from Alice and Jasper."

I could tell Edward was shocked. He actually braked the car, slowing down to an incredibly slow speed for him.

"But we haven't seen them, smelled them, heard their thoughts, much less been tagged. We're vampires, we haven't given them a chance to sneak up on us by sleeping."

My fingers dialed Emmett and Rosalie's number and counted one, two, rings before I heard Emmett's voice. "Hello?"

"Hey, Emmett, have you seen Alice or Jasper?"

"No, we haven't seen any trace of them. Why?"

"We got a weird text message-"

"One sec, Bella," he interrupted. My keen hearing could make out the soft murmur of Rosalie's voice, but not her words.

Emmett came back to the phone. "'B and E are now it?'"

"Yeah, and the weird thing is we honestly haven't seen or heard a trace of them either," I replied.

Luckily, Emmett believed me. Must be that I was always bad at lying as a human. "I'll call Carlisle and Esme on conference."

I put the phone on speaker, and waited. Edward took my hand that wasn't holding a phone.

"Hello?" Esme answered.

Edward and I explained the situation.

"That's odd," Carlisle said. His voice was concerned. "They were tracking us not too long ago. I'd say no more than an hour ago, and then their scent just suddenly disappeared. Maybe we picked close by hiding spots, and they caught your scent?"

Edward leaned in. "That might explain part of it, except you're in India, and we're in Paris."

Silence.

Rosalie broke the silence. "But still, why would they send that message? There's no way they were tracking Carlisle and Esme, then tagged you."

I could just imagine Emmett grinning as he exclaimed, "That's my Rose, doesn't think deep much, but when she does it's good!"

A sound like two stones colliding announced that Emmett had been slapped by his Rose.

We would have all started laughing if our phones hadn't buzzed. With all the speakers on, we could each hear every other phone buzzing.

There were sounds of fumbling as everyone reached, our vampire grace chased away by confusion and worry.

Edward managed to grab the phone first, and scrolled to text messages.

He read, "Run, B and E are it."

I shook my head. "Message them back and tell them we know they couldn't have tagged us, that they were following Carlisle and Esme.

There was the sound of clicking buttons. I suppressed a grin at the thought a texting vampire, and how not too long ago the idea would have been absurd.

"Sent," Edward announced.

We waited in silence. I broke the ice; "So, found anything interesting? Good hunting areas, places to live?"

Conversation once again lived. The six of us chatted about what we'd seen so far in the places we'd gone too. Edward and I were of course in a cloudy Paris, and Carlisle and Esme were in India, were monsoon rains hid the sun. Rosalie and Emmett had gone extremely exotic- they'd parachuted into the Amazon.

Emmett was cooing about the new prey he was experiencing. "Okapi are okay, but jaguars are just awesome, almost as good as bears, and much more exotic."

At his last word, we got another text; this time Esme read it.

Her voice trembled as she read, "Your friends aren't here, only B and E."


	3. Chapter 3

I apologize in advance that the chapter is rather short. The next one will be longer.

Disclaimer: Not owning Twilight, except in my dreams.

* * *

There was another shocked silence. I found myself wishing Alice wasn't the one missing- she'd fill the conversation gaps up. 

"Maybe we should all meet in one place," Carlisle suggested.

"That would be a good idea," Emmett agreed. "We must _really_ be running the phone bill up."

After listening to another smack, we all agreed to meet Carlisle and Esme and India. It was the logical choice as it was nearest to where Alice and Jasper had last been seen.

One tense flight (I had to hold my breath again), and llama ride (the cab service wasn't running because the roads were terrible after the heavy rains- so we had to take llamas that knew we were a threat and kept trying to bolt) later, we were at the small village outside Bombay. Carlisle and Esme had been helping the villagers, handing out food and medicine.

We sat around a table in the small house they were renting. Edward started off. "What should we do? I was trying to catch Alice or Jasper's mind on the way here, but I couldn't get them."

"Maybe you should try again now," I suggested. "You don't have to worry about getting bucked off a jittery llama."

We all took a moment to laugh.

"Alright, I'll try again," said Edward. He reclined and closed his eyes while the rest of us talked.

"Maybe we should call the phone number?" Esme said. "We can talk to the people phone to phone instead of text to text."

"Good idea." Rosalie called the number and put it on speakerphone.

Emmett sighed. "So not paying the phone bill next month."

Rosalie shushed him then began to talk. Her voice was low and seductive. No man stood a chance.

"Hello, there. I'm looking for someone by the initials of B or E."

A male voice came stuttering from the other side of the phone. "Y-yes, miss, there's a B and an E here. I can put you on with on of them-"

Someone started shouting at the speaker. "You idiot, don't talk to them!" In the background, I could just hear a faint voice that sounded like Alice's voice. Then, before I could be sure, there was a click as the speaker hung up.

"Did anyone else here that?" Carlisle asked.

"Alice." Everyone had.

Emmett looked serious for once. "I think she was calling 'Help.'"

If she had been human, Esme would have started sobbing.

Edward sat up. "I got Jasper for a minute. It's not clear, but Alice seems to be with him. And, they're in danger. That part was pretty clear."

"What kind of danger?" I asked.

The phone rang. I actually jumped at it. I was starting to become as jittery as those llamas.

Rosalie picked up. "Hello?"

A cool, low voice came from the speaker. "This is B, or Bob. And before you ask, I'm not as lame as my name. And, meet me in Timisoara, in front of the Opera house, tomorrow at 3 P.M.. Don't worry, your psychic says it'll be cloudy."

The line went dead.

* * *

Timisoara is a city in Romania. It's very nice, I've been there. Please tell me what you think of this chapter, and I promise I'll update with a longer chapter soon. 


	4. Chapter 4

Here's the next chapter. It's probably my favorite so far- the action starts to pick up, some questions are answered. And it's my longest chapter yet- over 900 words.

And those of you who are buying tickets to search for Jasper...don't bankrupt yourself. In a way, there will be a world-wide game, but with higher stakes. So lots of traveling.

Disclaimer: Twilight isn't mine.

* * *

Emmett recovered and pushed the off button.

"I guess we're going to Romania," I said.

Edward smiled, though his eyes remained serious. "It's rather ironic that they picked the country that contains Transylvania."

Carlisle smiled slightly. "That's true. But who are these people? Why are they keeping Alice and Jasper hostage?"

"Well, they must be vampires," Esme pointed out sensibly.

Rosalie stood up, brushing off her jeans. "Can we go already? I want to be in a place that doesn't smell like llamas."

"Sorry," Edward and I said together.

So, we were flying to Romania. I was holding my breath as usual. Edward held my hand, and distracted me from temptation. Emmett was flirting with the stewardess, pretending to be French.

"Yesh, my brothers and I are going to ze lovely city of London, on the Zames River. Ve vill be trying to find a nice lady…"

The stewardess giggled, and rolled her cart down the aisle.

Emmett paid for his fun when we landed.

"What 'vas' THAT!" Rosalie demanded.

"Rose, darling, it was only a bit of harmless fun…I'm yours for an eternity…"

The rest of us giggled and left him to his fate.

The rest of us where leaning over a map, trying to figure out the fastest way to the Opera House, when Rosalie and Emmett caught up. Rosalie was looking very smug, and Emmett looked terrified.

I caught a few of his words to Edward. "Brother, beware of the pissed off female vampires…it's like their non-existent PMS is amplified too."

I stifled a giggle and traced a finger down a street on the map. "That looks the fastest way."

We set off walking at a slightly faster than human speed. The crowd parted quite easily for us, except a few younger people staring at us.

We reached the steps of the Opera House as a nearby clock rang struck three. Immediately, a group of people emerged from a nearby group of trees.

I noticed at once they were vampires. They had the pale skin, and the burgundy eyes.

There were five of them. Two stood a little ahead of the others. They must be Bob and E, I thought. Bob had dark brown hair in a mullet. He was also rather short. I would have laughed at him being a villain, except for his eyes. They were cold and calculating, with some madness. The guy might not look the part, but he probably thought the part. [**A.N: Bob is definitely a Benito- no one takes Bob seriously until he creates chaos.**

E was pretty much his opposite. She was pretty- tall with long curly black hair and long eye lashes. Her eyes were almond shaped. Every once in a while, she would sneak an appreciative glance at Bob.

Then there were the three behind them. There were two girls that looked like they had been twins as humans. They had short, straight brown hair framing their face, and strong build. Their faces were oval, with high cheekbones. A man stood between them. He was bulky, but looked as if Emmett could easily beat him. He looked vaguely Jamaican, with long black dreadlocks and skin slightly darker than an average vampire.

Bob looked up at Carlisle. "I am, Bob!" He paused for a second, as if waiting for Carlisle to fall to his knees and beg for mercy. When that didn't happen, he went on. "This is my mate, E, or Emma." Emma turned her cold eyes on me, as if sizing me up. Bob went on. "The twins are Lily and Violet, though I can never tell them apart. And the man is Robert."

It was like the introductions were a cue. The three of them bent their knees slightly, going into a crouch. This was deadly serious.

Bob went on. "My coven has two territories. This area, and an area in India for the summer. Yesterday, I smelled a pair of vampires in India. I let them pass, thinking they were harmless. But then there was another pair. It could only be a takeover." His eyes glinted savagely. "I've lost count of how many we've killed to keep our land."

"Last time I bothered to count, it was 37," one of the twins interjected.

"Thank you," Bob said. "I guess we'll be making it 45 soon."

Carlisle stepped forward, and looked down at Bob. "We're not interested in your territory. Or the humans on it. My coven got bored, and one came up with the plan to play a tracking game around the world. We'll leave as soon as you give us our friends."

I wished Jasper were here, so he could send out some soothing waves.

Bob smiled savagely. "A game? We enjoy games. I propose this. Our covens play a game. A week long, maybe, or as long as it needs to be to find a winner. Whoever is left alive wins. If you don't wish to play…we'll take the lives of your captive friends right now."

We had no choice. "We agree," Carlisle said steadily. "Let our friends go, though, we need to be even."

Bob laughed harshly. "No, giving you a psychic would be unfair. None of my coven is gifted. You'll have to bust them out, and we've hidden them well."

With that, the coven turned and left. We stood there for a few minutes, waiting until their scent grew faint.

Rosalie turned to Edward. "Please tell me you were paying attention."

Edward smiled. "Of course. I know exactly where Alice and Jasper are, and how to get them out."


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Still not owning the plot of Twilight the story, just a cheap, beat-up paperback copy of it.

**

* * *

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**Alice POV**

I lounged in my prison, tapping impatient fingers forcefully on the edge of the chair. There was a splintering sound, and the chair cracked cleanly.

"Oops."

Jasper smiled at me. Though we were in a grim situation, my heart pounded a little faster and my grim mood lifted.

One of the two vampires left to guard us came in. His name was Carlos- he was Ben's right hand man, after Emma. He had buzz cut brown hair, and a temper. It didn't help Jasper usually got bored stuck in here and experimented with Carlos's feelings.

I felt sorry for the coven. They were being led by a badly dressed, short vampire with an outdated hairstyle.

As Carlos walked in, Jasper unleashed a torrent of hunger, followed up by nausea. Carlos seemed to turn even paler and rushed out of the room, his angry words gone.

It was bogus that we were stuck here instead of chasing the rest of the family. I also felt some fear. This coven was large for one that feasted on humans. If they chose to go to war with us…there might be casualties.

I replayed how they had caught us. They had decided to catch us at the last minute, so even I was clueless. Stupid split-second decisions. Then they had dragged us down here.

They hadn't thought to provide entertainment. Not even a bed.

I danced over to Jasper. His face, furrowed with thinking of possible escape routes, softened as I sat in his lap. He kissed me lightly. "It'll be all right," he promised. "We'll get out, then I'll take you shopping in Milan to make up for it."

I blanked out for a minute. I came back smiling. "You're right." I lowered my voice so even he had to strain to hear it. "Rescue tonight!"

**Bella POV**

We had hurried over to a nearby hotel after the meeting, and rented a room. Then we had sat down to a council of war.

Edward described what he had picked up in the minds of Bob's coven.

"Bob's mind is…interesting." He shuddered. "It's filled with cold calculating and cruelty." He went on. "But I did pick out his main strategy for this 'game.' It's mostly isolating and then attacking. Once Jasper's back, he can help us plan for that."

Rosalie made an impatient noise. "Yes, Sir Mind Reader, but tell us where they're hidden.

Edward went on like she hadn't said anything. "There's a small cave, on the edge of the city, where the land is finally dry. **[A.N: Timisoara was built on a swamp** They've furnished it pretty nicely, and Alice and Jasper are in a small cave branching off the main."

"Are we going to fight our way in?" Emmett asked eagerly.

"Absolutely not," Carlisle said. "This is their home territory- they'll have the advantage."

Esme looked thoughtful. "Can we dig in?"

I spoke up. "I could probably dig pretty well. I've been practicing my walls, and I might be able to enclose dirt and pull it out of the way."

"That would work," Emmett said. "But it would be loud. We'd need a distraction."

"I have a way, but Alice and Jasper will owe be big time after it," Rosalie said grimly.

Her plan was heard, and approved. Then it was put into action.

* * *

The young people of the city started noticing something odd. There were- they groped for a word- _posters _scattered about, pinned onto anything and everything possible. There were even a few pinned to solid brick walls. 

And these posters were advertising a _party_.

* * *

We stood in a nearby park. The sun, if it hadn't been obscured with clouds, would have set a few minutes ago. Edward, Emmett, Rosalie and I were dressed up like we were having a night on the town. Which in a way we were. 

It had been Rosalie's idea. We were to create a loud party, with plenty of music. Then we would somehow guide the humans that had showed up for it to right above the cave, and then let them unleash their full loudness.

Sure enough, people started drifting in, curious about what it would be like. Right on cue, the small band we'd hired started belting out some popular music. People started smiling, and then dancing. Before long, a full, loud party was on our hands.

Despite my protests, Edward dragged me out into the dancing. "You never dance," he insisted. "Besides, you're good at it now."

I sighed. 'Good' was a subjective term. I didn't trip over my feet that much anymore, but I didn't come close to Alice's- or any other member of the family's- grace.

After a few dances, Rosalie decided that the party was ready to move on. She'd discussed this with the band before, so after a few words they were carrying their instruments and playing. Soon, they gradually started walking, and the laughing crowd followed them without argument.

We were on our way. Edward and I hustled to the front of the crowd, near Rosalie and Emmett. (Carlisle and Esme would be following behind us in a car.) Soon, we neared another stretch of park.

"Here," Edward said softly. Another few words with the band, and they placed their instruments back down. The party was stationary once more.

We pulled ourselves away from the rest of the party. Emmett swore quietly. "Of course, we start an awesome party, and we won't be able to stay for long."

Esme and Carlisle appeared from a nearby stand of trees.

"Here?" Carlisle asked.

Edward nodded. "I can hear Alice and Jasper below. And let's make it quick."

Esme frowned. "Are they in trouble?"

"No," he replied. "Just incredibly bored."

I focused. When I'd first been changed, the shield would just be around me, but over time and practice I'd learned to manipulate it a bit. I hoped it would work. Otherwise, we wouldn't be able to dig fast enough.

**Alice POV **

A loud thrumming noise was coming from outside. It sounded like…music? And, listening closer, I could hear footsteps. There was dancing too.

"This is it!" I squealed.

Jasper rubbed his forehead. "Bob and his friends aren't happy. I can feel annoyance rolling off them."

"Make the dang music stop, already!" Bob yelled.

"We can't slaughter them all!" Carlos yelled.

A slight rumbling started coming from above our heads. Looking closely, I could see the ceiling starting to shake.

The vampires in the other room continued their fight, unaware they were helping to cover our escape.

The ceiling gave another shudder, and a gap appeared. A face then peered down at us.

"Found them!" Emmett called.

* * *

I hope I did Alice okay, though it's hard to catch all her wonderful hyperness when she's imprisoned. Review and let me know what you think. 


	6. Chapter 6

Sorry for the wait! My teachers decided to buckle down on us. Between the practice for the orchestra concert tommorow, the poem writing for English, the studying for the Science Final and the History terms, I had no time to type.

* * *

**Bella POV**

Emmett quickly lifted first Alice, then Jasper out of their prison. Esme hugged them each as soon as they were up. Alice seemed to be no worse for the wear- she started talking to me right away.

"You found us! Would you believe these people? They took all my clothes! At least I didn't pack anything really good. And now, I have an excuse to go and shop…maybe Milan…" She paused as she noticed the party. "That's awesome! Even better than I saw. Guess we won't be staying, right?"

Everyone else was preparing to leave. "No," Carlisle said. "You probably know that this coven is rather sadistic. They're making us play a lethal game of chase- a war, really."

Jasper nodded. "Alice saw that. I've started thinking of battle strategies."

The reunion was interrupted by a faint yelling drifting through the hole. "I'm telling you, we can just pop up and slay them all! It'll take only a minute or two…"

Alice blanked out for a moment and shook her head. "They won't do it. But I guess we should go."

We sped through shadows and underbrush to the parked car Esme and Carlisle had rented. We piled in, and with the limited space, I ended up sitting in Edward's lap. Not a bad place to be.

I leaned back, and he wrapped his arms around me. He lips brushed my cheek, and he murmured, "It'll be okay."

Just as I was about to remind him that I wasn't human anymore, I noticed a change in the car's atmosphere. Everyone started staring at their spouse- even Carlisle, who was driving- and looking like they were trying very hard to control themselves. I felt the same yearning.

A look of horror flitted across Edward's face and he pinched the bridge of his noise. "Jasper!" he yelled. "Stop channeling lust at everyone! Do you have any idea what it does to people's thoughts?"

Jasper smiled apologetically. "Sorry, I was messing with our warden's feeling…habit."

Emmett looked slightly miffed. "Well, I rather liked it."

Rosalie sighed. "Emmett, darling, shut up."

The laughter died when a breeze rolled into the car. It had been unseasonably warm, so we had rolled the windows down.

"They're after us," Emmett announced grimly.

"Take this exit," Esme said, reading a sign that flashed by. "I'll take us out to the highway."

Alice shook her head after a moment. "No, don't take that exit! We'll end up having to detour for roadwork, getting lost, and then caught. Take the next one!"

Rosalie had fumbled a map out. "No way, that road is listed as full of potholes! This may be a rental, but we're still not taking that road."

Edward pried the mind of a family in a car next to us. They had a GPS system. "No, take 33rd Street. It'll take us out of the city, and head towards an airport."

Carlisle turned onto 33rd Street. "If we can get to the airport and clip onto a departing flight, then we'll be ahead of them."

"Oo, can we go to Italy?" Alice asked. Everyone looked at her. "What? I'm not just talking about the shopping; I'm talking about the Volturi. Carlisle and Aro go way back."

"We'll have to take the first plane, so we'll see our choices when we get there," Jasper supplied.

Carlisle found a patch of relatively empty road and nearly floored the gas.

We soon passed a sign that declared we were two miles from the airport. Then the unthinkable happened.

A siren started behind us.

This was to be expected- we were going way faster than we should have. But still…

Emmett looked hopeful. "Can we outrun them?"

Carlisle sighed. "It seems like we'll have too- we're pushing the seat belt limit, and they take that seriously. And we can't afford to be stuck in jail."

Edward prodded the police officer's mind. "Actually, Carlisle, the police officer has a soft spot I think we could tickle."

Alice burst out laughing. "Good one Edward!"

Rosalie rolled her eyes. "Explain for those of us that aren't supernaturally gifted."

Edward outlined his plan.

If Carlisle were human, he'd be blushing red. "Edward, I'm not sure we can risk Jasper flirting with the officer. What if he charged us with indecent behavior?"

"I'll do it!" Emmett offered.

Edward shook his head. "The guy has a thing for blondes."

"How do you know this?" Esme asked.

"Well…um…he was having a fantasy while chasing us…" Edward trailed off.

"We appear to have no real choice. We have to shake him before the airport." Carlisle looked queasy about the whole plan as he pulled over.

He and Jasper quickly changed seats. Alice leaned over to Jasper and muttered, "Don't enjoy it too much."

So we sat in our car, waiting for the officer to catch up.

"Anyone have the vampire equivalent of popcorn?" Emmett asked.


	7. Chapter 7

Happy St. Patty's Day! _is decked out in green and beads _

For those of you who asked me, I play violin. The concert went well, except for one song. We're divided into seperate orchestras, each with a different part, because we're so big, and my section of the orchestra waited for a cue that never came...so we missed a whole chunk of the song. Tehe.

Enough rambling! To the update! Wait, disclaimer comes first.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight..though I will own a ticket stub from going to the movie when it comes out.**

* * *

We all sat in the car. Emmett was having a hard time stifling his giggles, Carlisle had a horrified look on his face as everything started to sink in, and Jasper looked like he was afraid he would accidentally end up killing the officer.

The officer pulled up behind us, and walked over to the car. I could just make out his black hair and brown eyes.

"Do you know how fast you were going?" he said gruffly as he walked over. He had an accent, but his English was understandable. 

Jasper leaned out of the car door, smiling sadly. "Sorry, sir," he said, stressing his Dixieland accent. "These blasted kilometer signs keep messing me up- I'm used to miles."

There was a moment of weakness as the police officer stared bug-eyed at Jasper. Then he shook his head and replied, "That's regrettable, but you're still getting a ticket."

From the back seat, Alice hissed at him quietly, so the police officer wouldn't hear. "Finish it fast, we need to move!"

Jasper pulled out the stops. He pumped love with a bit of lust at the police officer, and then restarted the conversation. 

"I'm so sorry, officer. I feel terrible about being made a fool of in front of a police officer. I've always admired those who serve their country. And you're so attractive. I've always loved a man in uniform…" He trailed off, looking at the officer with wide eyes.

The officer seemed dazed. "Yes...yes…go…" he trailed off dreamily. Edward tensed.

"Thank ya, sir," Jasper said as he rolled up the window and hit the gas- going right at the speed limit.

Emmett burst out laughing. Good thing he didn't need to breathe- he wasn't getting any air. "Why didn't we bring a camera?"

"Because it would traumatize Jasper to have to watch it again," Alice scolded. 

Rosalie moved her hand to reveal a camcorder. "Consider him scarred for eternity."

Edward groaned. "I'm not watching that again. I'm always going to remember the officer's thoughts…"

I twisted over and kissed him. 

"Good distraction," he mumbled. 

I faintly heard Emmett say, "Good thing we were going to tape ourselves, huh Rose?"

We soon made it to the airport. We ran as fast as we could with humans watching to the front desk.

Edward got there first. "Do you have any last-minute tickets in large quantities?"

The desk clerk batted her eyelashes. "Where are you going sir?"

"Anywhere," Edward said vaguely. "Cost and class don't matter," he added. "But buisness class is preferred."

The clerk typed a few things, clicked her mouse, and read us the results. "We have nine tickets available to Seattle, leaving in 15 minutes, 10 for Miami in half an hour, four for Tokyo in 40 minutes, and 12 tickets for London in one hour.

"One second, please," Edward said.

"We can't split up," Jasper murmured. "That rules out Tokyo."

"I don't like how the city smells anyway," Rosalie added, wrinkling her nose. "It smells too fishy, like sushi."

Alice zoned out for a second. "We have to take Seattle- Miami's going to be too sunny, and Bob's coven will be here in 45 minutes. They're stopping for a snack."

I hesitated. "Do we have to go to Seattle?" We'd been avoiding the northwest coast of the States since I'd been changed. I still had bad visions of running into someone I knew, or worse, running into a pack member…

Esme hugged me. "Don't worry, Bella, everything will be okay. We'll just stay in the airport, get a flight to Italy."

Carlisle nodded. "If we can get to Italy, we should all be relatively safe. Unless Bob doesn't know about the Volturi."

Edward turned around and bought the tickets, ignoring the clerk's warning about having to run to make the flight.

As we boarded the plane- we were the last ones on- Rosalie suddenly deflated. "We have no baggage- we left it all in the hotel!"

Alice patted her on the back. "It's such a hard thing to go through, Rosalie, but we'll survive. And it's not like we need deodorant or anything…" 

We had gotten into business class, and I could actually breathe. I wasn't packed in as much, and there were plenty of food smells to help mask the appetizing smell of human.

We got to Seattle slightly late because of cloud cover, but in one piece. Alice, Rosalie, Esme, and I sat on a bench, feigning weariness as the men went on a quest to find plane tickets. 

Alice had managed to get her hands on a Vogue magazine, and was flipping casually through it, when she got a vision.

Suddenly she jumped to her feet, the magazine forgotten. "We have to go get the guys!" she said, panic in her voice. "There's someone from Forks in this airport!"


	8. Chapter 8

Woo, Spring Break is here. I'll have plenty of time to write, so expect updates. 

Disclaimer: I'm not Stephanie Meyer, I don't own Twilight. 

* * *

My brain froze for a moment, but my mouth didn't. "Who?" I squeaked out.

Alice was dancing from foot to foot in agitation as Rosalie, Esme and I stood up. "No time to say. We need to split up and look." She quickly told us where to go, and we dashed off.

My mind had unfrozen, and it ran over a list of who it could be. The pack? No, I didn't smell werewolf. 

It could be Charlie, but it was unlikely. He must be pretty old by now, and he wouldn't be in an airport. That was good too- I could just imagine a conversation between him and me, his supposedly dead daughter.

_'BELLA! You're alive? But…I went to your funeral? Why do you look so different? _

_'Hey Dad! I never really died; it was a plot to cover up my transformation. Sorry, can't stay and chat. I'm being chased by a coven of vampires right now and I really need to get to Italy. Bye!'_

I smiled despite the situation. I put whom it could possibly be out of my mind- hopefully I wouldn't run into them.

I walked through the crowd for what seemed like forever, but according to the clocks, was only 15 minutes. I kept all my senses peeled for a familiar face or voice…

I heard the sound of Edward and Emmett's voice arguing, and searched the crowd. I saw them, talking with Carlisle and Jasper, and managed to slip through the crowd to them. 

"Hello, Bella," Carlisle said. He noticed my flustered-looking appearance. "Is something wrong?"

I nodded. "Alice saw someone from Forks in the airport- she didn't say who, but we split up to find you guys."

Everyone stiffened a little. Meeting someone from Forks wouldn't be good- all of us were supposed to be dead in one way or another. 

Edward closed his eyes for a minute, then opened them and pointed in the direction of the food court. "They've met up near there. 

So, we all started for the food court. The smells started to waft in, and Jasper wrinkled his nose. "It smells like the police officer," he explained. 

Rosalie saw us first. "Found them!" she said. Alice and Esme looked relieved.

"Who is it?" Edward asked automatically.

Alice frowned. "Charlie is here- he's going to receive some kind of police award in New York."

I gulped. Maybe that conversation would end up being true.

"We need to fly out as soon as possible," Esme said.

"That's the problem," Carlisle said. "There are no flights to Italy for a while, and even if there were, the weather's taking a turn for the worse. There's a delay on everything."

"So, what are we doing?" Alice asked. 

Emmett answered. "We're going to have to stay here for a while."

"Not very private," Rosalie sighed.

We settled down in a quieter area of the airport. There were plenty of open chairs, so we sat down, bought magazines, and waited. 

After half an hour, Alice disappeared and then came back waving an envelope enthusiastically. "We leave for Florence in an hour!" she sang. "Someone cancelled, so I just went and snatched these up."

It was good to have a psychic sister.

My fears started to ebb. There were so many people, what were the chances of running into Charlie? And we'd be gone soon.

After 15 minutes, Alice slipped into the chair next to me. "Come exploring," she begged. "I've been looking at the map, and they have some stores."

I sighed. At any other time, shopping was a torture I couldn't endure. But I was so incredibly bored right now. "Why not?" I replied.

So Alice and I told the others of our plans and went off to check out the shops. We were just coming into sight of them when I heard the worst thing possible at the moment. 

"Officer Swann, would you like to check out the shops?"

Alice heard too, and grabbed my hand, dragging me into the small chapel at our right. 

We hurried into the front rows, lit up by the light of the faux stained glass windows. Slipping into a pew three from the altar, we bowed our heads as if we were praying.

The door to the chapel made a soft noise as someone else joined us. 


	9. Chapter 9

"I didn't know you were religious, Officer Swann," said an unfamiliar voice

**This chapter has a lovely long history of me kicking the computer/internet. I finished about 5 hours before now, only to have the Internet die. So, I waited. Now the Internet lives, but it keeps shutting down when I try to edit a document. So, my layout might be a bit off. Sorry.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.**

"I didn't know you were religious, Officer Swann," said an unfamiliar voice.

Charlie replied, "A bit since my daughter died." His voice was a little hoarse.

My heart went out to him.

Alice leaned over. "We have to get out," she whispered. Just follow my lead."

She slipped into a heavy British accent. It was pretty good- we'd lived in a suburb of London a few years ago.

"Oh dear!" she exclaimed quietly, but loud enough for Charlie and his guide to hear. "We'll be late for the flight! Hurry, Sara, hurry!"

She dashed off, weaving through shadows in the chapel. I followed, wishing we had just dashed out quietly- I could feel the curious eyes of Charlie on me. 

I slipped out of the door just as he wondered out loud, "Do I know you…?"

I caught up with Alice. "Does this mean we won't be shopping?"

She hung her head momentarily. "I'm afraid so."

We found our way back to the rest of the family, and after briefing them on what had happened, we all picked up the little baggage we had and headed to our flight. 

"Good thing you were able to get out of there fast," Carlisle said as we passed the metal detectors into the waiting area for the flight. 

I sat next to Edward, holding his hand as he rubbed soothing circles in my palm. I peered at everyone in the area, hoping that there'd be no sight of Charlie.

After about half an hour, there was no sight of Charlie. I breathed a sigh of relief as we walked into the plane.

We were in business again. I noticed the seats were incredibly comfortable- if I was human I would have curled up and taken a nap.

As it was, I was content with curling up and watching an old movie- a 2009 remake of Dracula. I thought it was pretty ironic that I was sitting on an airplane, not breathing, watching a vampire movie.

Edward smiled. "Hey, Emmett," he called softly. "Do you remember when you convinced me to crash the set of this movie?"

Emmett's face lit up. "Oh, right! We should be on about now."

I watched the screen intently. Of course, I did remember that day. I'd voted to stay home- I wasn't sure about my control yet, and I didn't want to be filmed accidentally murdering someone. 

Sure enough, there was a scene where the hero was passing through a small village. In the background I could just make out Emmett and Edward. Edward looked like he was trying to make it seem as if he was having a serious conversation. Emmett was just making faces at the camera. 

I stifled a laugh. Everyone that was human would look at me oddly if I burst out laughing in a part of the movie that wasn't funny.

The plane soon landed at our one-hour layover at Chicago. We had come in late, so we scrambled through the crowd, not wanting to miss the flight to Florence. Still, Alice somehow found time to run into a store and come out with some shoeboxes. 

Alice skipped over to Rosalie, handing one box to Jasper. "Got you some new stilettos, in light purple," she trilled.

Rosalie opened the box, and nodded. "Nice. I hope I'll get a chance to wear them."

"What's in the other box?" Esme asked.

Alice grinned. "My stilettos- Porsche yellow," she said as she helped Jasper shove the box into a new luggage bag.

We sat on the plane again. I sighed- if this went on, I'd soon have as good control as Carlisle. 

We were out over the ocean when I felt something change. The constant thrum of the airplane engines had started to sputter. I looked over at the rest of my family- they were looking around, trying to figure out what had happened too.

The plane intercom crackled to life, and a stewardess's trembling voice flooded the plane.

"Hello folks, we are experiencing some engine trouble. We may have to make an emergency water landing, but please stay calm."


	10. Chapter 10

"I didn't know you were religious, Officer Swann," said an unfamiliar voice

**I can't believe how busy I've been this break. I've been dragged shopping (Blegh!) pretty much everyday. Here's a chapter I managed to type up in the downtime.**

**Sorry if I mess up the crash- I've never actually been in one or anything, and I couldn't find much about what one would be like. Especially if the person experiencing it is a vampire.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.**

I let out a whimper. This wasn't good.

Edward kissed me on the cheek. "It'll be okay, love." His voice dropped to a no human ear could hear. "Remember, you can't drown, or anything."

I smiled faintly. "I know that- but besides all the possible injuries to the humans, which could let blood, there's another problem. We'll be giving Bob's coven time to catch up."

Emmett overheard. "Don't worry," he said confidently. "We can outsmart and outfight them on land, and the same applies to water."

Alice turned toward us. "Please, Emmett, you're not Jesus. You can't walk, much less fight, on water." She zoned out for a minute, and came back giggling. "But if you insist on trying, it'll be pretty entertaining."

Of course, the whole family was getting into the conversation.

"The blood may be I problem," Carlisle agreed. "But the salty smell of the ocean may help block it out."

Rosalie sighed, using a normal voice, which contrasted with the rapid whispers we'd been talking in. "I hope the salt doesn't ruin the shoes."

An old lady turned over and fixed Rosalie in a death glare. "Young lady, we're about to go down, and you're worrying about _shoes_?" she said, bristling.

Rosalie gaped, speechless for a moment, and by the time she'd recovered, the old lady was facing forward again.

Jasper didn't look good. "Everyone's anxious, or terrified- it's terrible on me," he moaned quietly.

Edward nodded. "People's minds aren't great to peek into either."

We lapsed into silence. I was working on a small wall around Edward, the rest of the family, and me, just in case.

The stewardess came back on. "We will be experiencing an emergency landing. Please get into positions like the ones flight attendants will be demonstrating."

A flight attendant came by, smiling like she'd just won the lottery, probably trying to reassure us. She showed us how to curl up and brace against the front seats.

We complied- it would look odd if we didn't, and still ended up surviving perfectly well.

"This is pointless," Emmett protested quietly.

A few moments later, we hit the water.

There was a jerk, and I could hear water splashing as we displaced it. There were some ominous creaks from various parts of the plane. My head butted against the seat, leaving a dent.

"Oops," I said. I hoped they never recovered the main body of the plane.

There were more jolts, and then the plane stopped. I only felt a slight swaying of the plane as it was tugged on by waves.

The flight attendants started ushering people out of their seats, to slide down the safety slides into small boats. We were ushered out close to last- we let everyone else go out in front of us.

We leaped down the slide- Emmett looked like he was having the time of his life, and Rosalie was holding tightly onto the bag containing the shoes- and filled the boat. I was relieved to smell no open blood, and I was pretty sure Jasper was feeling the same way.

"What do we do now?" Esme asked.

Jasper glanced around. "We wait until the flight attendants look away. Hopefully they won't miss us."

Yeah, the flight attendants won't miss the flawlessly beautiful family.

"At least the sun's not out," Edward added.

I looked up. "The clouds are clearing, it seems."

As if the sun was waiting for that, beams of sun started to pierce the area. Luckily, we were still in shadow, but it was only a matter of time…

Carlisle glanced around. "Now!"

We all dived off the boat. I was the last one. Right before I split the water, I heard someone yell, "Family Overboard!"

That was the last thing I heard before the cool water cut off the rest of the world.


	11. Chapter 11

Sorry about the wait. Track's started, and my muse has been dead, and teachers have been evil homework-wise, and-

Well I'll just get on with the story. That's the important part.

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight..

* * *

At first, I reveled in the quiet of the waves. Swimming was much more fun now that I was a vampire. I didn't need to worry about drowning (or breathing for that matter), or catching a cold after being wet. I could keep my eyes open without them stinging, and they let me see very well, even in deeper water. And of course, I could swim pretty fast.

But I was yanked to reality when I heard the slight buzz of shouts in my ears, coming from the direction of the rapidly receding boat.

_Oh, great_, I thought. _We've been noticed. Maybe jumping off wasn't the best idea._

But we couldn't go back to the boat unless we were willing to face counseling and possibly an asylum when we were rescued.

Before long, I surfaced near the rest of the family. The sun had come out in full force, and we made a radiant sight, sitting in the middle of the ocean sparkling, with the drops of water on us making rainbow prisms on our skin.

Rosalie held her soaking little bag, as was Alice. They both opened them, sighing when they saw their shoes were safe.

I coughed a little water that had seeped into my mouth out. "What now?"

"We could swim for shore," suggested Carlisle.

"But we don't really have an idea of where we are," Edward pointed out.

"Don't rain on the party, Edward," Emmett scolded. "Swimming is fun."

Esme shaded her eyes. "I can't see any land."

"If we swim for it, we'll be very thirsty when we arrive on land," Jasper said.

Alice zoned out. "There will be a cruise boat coming soon. If we can manage to pull ourselves onto it, we'll manage to get somewhere- or at least figure out where we are.

So we waited.

Emmett got bored and started submerging and blowing bubbles. He popped out of the water after a few minutes. "There's fish down there!"

We all ducked down into the water, and we saw what Emmett was talking about. There were huge schools of brilliantly colored fish swimming under us.

We watched them for a while, then bobbed up.

Edward smiled crookedly. "We've found the fish super-highway."

We all laughed at that.

After a few more underwater excursions, we sighted the cruise boat on the horizon. We started to swim for it, ducking out of sight underwater when we got closer. Even with the clouds back, we might still be noticed.

On the back end of the ship, there was a huge figurehead of an orchid. Luckily, no one was near it. We all managed to get a grasp on it. From there, it was easy climbing- the carved wood had plenty of hand and foot holds. We just had to be careful to not grasp it too tightly and leave a hand-shaped mark.

We pulled ourselves onto the deck, and hurried away.

"What do we do now?" I asked. "We've just stowed away on a cruise ship."

"Well, first thing first, we have to look like we belong," Alice said brightly. She opened her little bag, and dug around near the bottom until she pulled out a credit card. "We need some fitting clothes. Everyone here it dressed up all nice, and we're in sopping wet traveling clothes."

Carlisle shook his head. "Alice, they'll know we're stowaways if you use a credit card."

Edward nodded. "Even if it is a special one under a fake name you created just for buying plane tickets while playing the tag." He paused. "We'll need a ship card- everybody charges on those things. No names- the payment goes to the room number."

Esme didn't look too happy. "Stealing?"

Jasper smiled. "It doesn't have to be stealing. It's borrowing. And we'll send them the money we spent after we get off this boat."

Though Carlisle and Esme weren't happy with the plan, it was soon set into motion. It was easy- Rosalie (who had committed herself to getting that card after she'd caught a glimpse of some of the clothes available in the shops) slipped into an unlocked room a couple had just abandoned for the pool. She was out in a minute, with the bit of plastic that meant so much.

We then traipsed to the shops. We received some odd looks, but we explained how the men had thought it would be funny to drag us into the pool. And that the women had needed revenge.

We walked out dry (we'd been clucked over and given free towels and the use of the fitting rooms to dry off) and dressed up quite nicely. The men all wore suits, and all of us ladies had on elegant evening dresses. We also had a few changes of clothes.

We strolled about the ship, admiring the views of the night sky. The air smelled like brine, which I was glad off- it covered the scent of humans decently. I felt slightly guilty about enjoying the cruise for free, but Edward cheered me up.

"We're not eating, and we've bought plenty of stuff in their clothing store. And we won't be attending many of the activities." He kissed me lightly. "And, if you still feel guilty, we can always send them money too. Alice's better than ever at Wall Street."

We managed to stay on the ship without rousing suspicion until we docked. That was no big feat- the cruise stopped the next morning.

We stopped in Kingston, Jamaica. It was, the captain announced, a fueling stop and a lovely island where all the passengers could disembark and have a guided tour. The ship would be sailing off again at six in the evening- eight hours from now. The weather would be overcast in the morning, with the sun coming out later.

Well, our luck with the sun had been good for a while. It had had to run out originally.

My mind drifted for the rest of the speech, which was a list of places that would be visited, and restaurants that everyone who has actually boarded the ship legally could use some kind of free vouchers at.

But my sense of smell picked up a faint scent. It puzzled me at first, but then I realized I'd smelled it before. I searched my memories, and then realized where I'd encountered it before. Timisoara.

"Vampire on the island," I said.

* * *

Don't forget to review- nothing makes my day like a long list of e-mails from this site. :)


	12. Chapter 12

"I didn't know you were religious, Officer Swann," said an unfamiliar voice

**Here's a chapter. Not much action, but it's got some big developments and necessary info.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.**

The effects of my words were instantaneous. Everyone stiffened, even as we tried to blend in with the crowd of happy tourists planning their day.

Edward pulled me over to him, draping an arm around my shoulders protectively. "Don't go meeting this one all alone in a ballet studio," he said.

"I'm not as vulnerable as before," I pointed out.

His eyes softened. It was funny how they still dazzled me.

"I know," he said. "But I still couldn't lose you." **(A.N: I couldn't resist a little fluff. Forgive me.)**

We made our way off the boat, and separated from the tourists. Once they were out of sight, we tried to pinpoint the vampire's location. It was trickier than we'd thought it would be- the area was crowded, full of distracting noises and scents, as well as distracting minds for Edward.

But finally, Alice got a helpful vision. "It's Robert- the Jamaican-looking vampire," she said. "He's in a little park nearby. He appears to be alone, and our future doesn't seem to involve the rest of the coven."

We cautiously proceeded to the park. Sure enough, Robert was there, looking out over a small pond. As the wind picked up, carrying our scent to him, he spun around, eyes widening when he realized it was all eight of us.

"What are you doing here?" Emmett asked.

Robert eyed us. "I could ask you the same thing."

Rosalie fixed him with a glare, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "Our cruise stopped here."

Robert looked like he was going to charge us. I nervously started putting up a barrier around myself, and Edward, who was closest to me. I wished I could protect the rest of the family, but I could only stretch my power so far before the wall became no use at all.

Jasper started pouring out calm, and Robert relaxed his stance.

He took a breath. "You must never tell Bob what I'm about to tell you," he said.

Carlisle nodded. "I swear."

Robert gestured around him. "Jamaica used to be my home," he said wistfully. "But I was changed by a passing vampire about 50 years ago. I had managed to scream before he caught me fully, so the police started this way. The vampire fled, and the police didn't see me."

"I traveled away from my home. Though I could only remember them faintly, I had family and friends here. I had an idea of my nature, and I didn't want to hurt any of them." He paused. "I found I had a talent, though a small one. When in my presence, covens tend to work better together. I guess I'd had a similar effect when I was human. As a result, once I'd joined a coven, I could rarely leave. The leader would know my talent, and would want to keep me so his coven wouldn't kill each other."

"Why didn't you start your own coven?" Jasper asked.

Robert looked at him funny. "Me? Start a coven?" he exclaimed, as it were the most stupid thing in the world.

I realized we'd stumbled upon a vampire with self-confidence issues.

Esme intervened. "Go on, Robert," she said kindly.

Robert nodded. "I joined into Bob's coven when my current coven tried to wrest Bob's hunting grounds. Bob killed everyone, but spared me, as I could be useful. I've served him, and in exchange, he lets me have some freedom once in a while."

Wheels started turning in my head. "So, Robert, if you left Bob's coven, they'd argue amongst themselves more?"

He nodded. "Yes, but Bob would track me down. If only he wouldn't."

Edward picked up on my idea. "What if we told him you were dead?"

Robert looked up, startled. "Well, that would be wonderful."

Carlisle looked at Edward, who nodded. Carlisle then turned back to Robert. "We'll do that- all of us. If you leave, it'll be easier for us to survive this intact."

Robert nodded. "I see what you mean. Thank you for my freedom, good luck on yours." He turned back to the pond as we walked away.

"It'll only be a matter of time now," Alice sang happily. "They'll be tearing each other up soon now. Things were tense enough with Robert there."

"Are we still going to Italy?" I asked.

"We should," Edward said. "We could wait there safely as Robert's absence takes it's toll."

"And it's about time we visited Aro," Carlisle said wearily. "He loves our visits rather too much."

"To Italy?" Rosalie asked.

"To Italy," Alice confirmed.


	13. Chapter 13

"I didn't know you were religious, Officer Swann," said an unfamiliar voice

**Ta-da! A shiny new chapter with some Aro-ness. There's not much action, though. (It'll pick up next chapter.)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.**

I looked around my room in Volterra. It had a low couch, as a substitute for a bed, a mirror, a small washing basin, and a dresser. Red velvet curtains framed a small window overlooking the city. A few faded oil paintings hung on the wall. It was the perfect example of the Volturi's generic guest room. Edward and I had stayed in a room almost exactly like this last time we visited.

I fell onto the sofa, trying not to break it. The way here had been hectic- two changed flights and some grand theft auto. Evidently, the Roman car rental service had nothing speedy enough.

At least it wasn't a canary yellow Porsche.

Aro had, of course, greeted us with open arms. He was still fascinated by our diet, Carlisle, and my powers.

Edward sat down next to me. "Tired?" he said.

I glared at him. "Please tell me that was a joke, otherwise I'll be forced to reanalyze the fact that you're a vampire."

He laughed, which was still the most beautiful sound in my world. "Of course I was," he said, leaning down to kiss me.

Later, we went down for some talking time with Aro. He stood at the head of a table, which, absurdly, was set with shimmering silver plates. Not that we needed them or anything.

"Carlisle, it's a pleasure to see you and your family!" Aro declared happily.

The face Jane and quiet a few of the other Volturi wore said the opposite.

He sat down gracefully, extending a hand to me. "Still up to your old tricks, Bella?" he asked.

I let his fingers brush against my hand, and he shook his head.

"Amazing! Still nothing. And your walls?"

I concentrated for a moment, and then beckoned Jane forward. Scowling, she stepped forward, only to run into an invisible wall.

Aro laughed. "Wonderful! I say, Jane, I think the Cullens are growing on you."

Jane just glared daggers at me, probably trying for the hundredth time to make me writhe in pain.

Aro kept our mouths moving with questions about our general life among humans, our powers, and how the diet was going.

"So," he inquired, "What happens if you make a slip and kill a human?"

I groaned mentally. We didn't really go down this road. But, still, Volterra was the safest place for us at the moment.

Carlisle explained in a tired voice. "We do what we can for the family, then we move."

"Alice, can you see _my_ future?" Aro demanded eagerly.

Alice nodded, then zoned out. She brushed her hand with Aro's, and he burst out laughing.

"That is so nice! I still can't believe humans thought of something like that…Marcus, Cauis, what do you think of adding a swimming pool in the basement?"

Esme saw we were verging onto dangerous territory. No one but Aro would want to talk about the wonders of pools for long.

"Aro?" she asked sweetly.

"Yes, Esme?" he replied.

I could almost see her searching her mind. "Do you ever…play board games around here?"

Board games?

Edward leaned over to my ear. "It was either switching the topic to board games or staying on pools."

"Board games are better, I guess." What were we going to do? Play Life or something?

Aro frowned. "Board games? Once in a while, guards get angry at each other and hit each other with wooden boards…the boards always shatter, but do those count?"

It was going to be one long night.

Finally, the other Volturi got hungry. We excused ourselves to wander about the city.

I dimly recognized the fountain I'd sloshed through to get to Edward in time, and the rest of my family recognized things from visits before I was with them.

"Hey, Rosalie, look." Edward pointed to an arch that was carved beautifully, except for one spot. "That's where you shoved Emmett, and the Volturi had to hack off the carvings to get rid of his imprint."

Rosalie smiled faintly. "I remember that."

Emmett touched the arch almost reverently. "They were pretty mad."

"We got to leave right away," Jasper added happily. "Aro was getting on my nerves. And the rest of the Volturi had wonderful emotions. As fun as getting torn up by a bear."

Emmett looked hurt. "I've gone through that, Jasper Whitlock Hale."

"Now now, don't get into a fight," Esme counseled. "We don't want to break another famous landmark and get chased out of Volterra."

"We need to give Bob and his coven a chance to fall apart," Carlisle added.

Later in the day, Edward and I were back in our generic room, lying together on the couch. His arms were wrapped around me, and we just sat in silence, enjoying each other's company.

Even though everything seemed perfect, I couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen.


	14. Chapter 14

"I didn't know you were religious, Officer Swann," said an unfamiliar voice

**My muse had abandoned me, but it's back. It came with a price- I was listening to music to wake it up, and my parents walked in on me singing. Oh, the embarrassment! But, enjoy this long-ish chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.**

It happened a week after we'd arrived in Volterra.

Nothing had happened much in the time- Aro still asked us question, though not as many as before. He was attempting to create a board game other vampires would enjoy, as well as planning how to get a contractor to install a pool in the basement without revealing the Volturi.

We had continued touring the city, making new memories that included Edward being forced to eat a mince pie by an overeager street vendor, Emmett and Rosalie accidentally breaking an old obelisk and super gluing it back together, and Alice disguising her self and acting as an Indian fortune-teller for a day. Also, Jasper accidentally lost control over his emotions at one point, reducing half the city to sobbing people washing the roads with their tears for no apparent reason.

I was flipping through a book I'd gotten from Aro's library. It was a copy of _Romeo and Juliet_, handwritten by Shakespeare himself.

Emmett popped his head into my room. "Have you seen Rosalie? We were going to go shopping." He grimaced. "Or, a better term for it would be Alice and Rosalie shopping and Jasper and I carrying their bags."

I frowned, realizing I hadn't seen my blonde sister at all that day. "No. Maybe ask Aro? He keeps tags on us."

"Good idea, Bella," he said, and wandered off.

I returned to my book.

I heard footsteps and looked up, annoyed. It was Emmett again.

He was wringing his hands. "Aro said she went out hunting earlier, but she hasn't returned yet. But she should be back!"

I put the book down on the floor. This was a problem- our hunting ground was a small open woodland a few miles outside the city. Knowing Rosalie, she would have finished up fast and ran back, especially with the promise of shopping. "Let's ask Alice," I said.

We got to Alice's room to find her and Jasper waiting impatiently inside. "You seen Rose?" she asked.

I shook my head. "That's why we're here- she went hunting, but she didn't come back. She should be done by now."

Alice frowned, and closed her eyes. A frown passed across her face. "I'm getting glimpses of her future, but short, and they keep changing. By the time I make sure they're about her, they're gone.

Jasper thought for a moment, projecting calm at us all. "Let's go look at the park she was at. But let's get Edward too, and tell Carlisle and Esme where we're going."

So the four of us climbed the flight of stairs to our adopted parents' room. Edward joined us halfway up, telling us he knew what was going on. Of course.

Our entourage reached the room. Before we knocked, Carlisle came out. "I heard your coming up," he explained. "What's going on?"

Edward explained. He had, of course, picked up pretty much everything from Alice, Jasper, and Emmett's minds. And he had the advantage of seeing how Carlisle comprehended it.

Esme slipped out the door. "Not Rose too," she said unhappily. "I guess you should go. But be careful. We'll have to tell Aro if you're not back in a few hours."

"Esme and I will go instead of you two," Carlisle said to Jasper and Alice. "If something goes wrong, you two would have the best chance of finding out fast and getting help."

It was way past 18, but I still had a curfew.

We acquired a car from one of the large dealerships the Volturi seemed to own. It had a slick little GPS system-which we discovered had one small flaw.

Emmett poked it gingerly- a few years ago he'd broken a GPS system when he pounded it with his fist in frustration. "Why is the GPS speaking Hindu in Italy?"

Edward was driving. He took a hand off the steering wheel to jab the settings button. "It has no other language," he groaned.

"In all of your years alive, none of you learned Hindu?" I asked.

"Well, no," Edward admitted. "We were learning the more common languages- French, Spanish, Italian, German, Hebrew, Japanese, Sign Language…"

"Latin, Greek, Chinese," Esme added helpfully. "But not Hindu."

We managed to find our way to the park by following the maps the GPS provided. Emmett got annoyed with the voice though, and the GPS suffered a voice bow casualty.

We got out and circled the woods. The wind was at my back, and the sun was breaking through the clouds just a bit, peppering us with quick, furtive bursts of light.

Then the wind changed directions, and it brought a new smell to me. A familiar, vampire smell.

Emmett smelled it too, and grew tense. "Ambush," he said.

And there's the end! No, I've decided to be not THAT cruel. There's more under:

I whirled around, to find us confronted by a hoard of red-eyed vampires. But something was wrong- there were far more than there should be, if this was Bob's coven.

My family and I made a tight circle and started to fight. I clawed, using shields to deflect direct attacks, but it was evident that we were losing. There were too many of them.

Carlisle sidled next to me. "Esme, Emmett, and I are going to make a distraction. You put a shield over you and Edward."

I was horrified. "You're sacrificing yourselves?"

He shook his head. "They're not fighting to kill. We'll be fine. You two need to escape and get word back to Volterra."

"But…"

"No buts, Bella. Do it." With that, he dashed suddenly into the foes. Esme and Emmett mimicked his move.

There was shock in the ranks, and a small clear space opened up around Edward and me. I calmed myself, and put a wall up.

Carlisle, Emmett, and Esme had been overwhelmed and were being dragged off- still struggling. That was good- they were still alive.

A vampire launched herself at Edward and me, only to meet an invisible resistance. I noticed she was one of the twins from Bob's coven.

"Very well," she hissed. "Stay in your bubble. We have your friends, and we'll get you too soon."

She followed the rest of the ambush party, who had started to retreat when they noticed it was impossible to get through my wall.

Soon, they were entirely gone, leaving only Edward and I under the suddenly sunny sky.


	15. Chapter 15

"I didn't know you were religious, Officer Swann," said an unfamiliar voice

**Okay, I know I've been evil and lazy. I had computer problems for a few days, and then when it came back…I had lost the will to continue. And I had no clue where to go. But, after coming home to undeserved reviews today, I got my butt into writing gear and came up with this chapter. I hope you enjoy, and forgive me for the wait. ******

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.**

Five minutes later, Edward and I were in the car, driving back as fast as we could. I was shaking with dry sobs.

That was one of the downsides of being a vampire- you could never give yourself the luxury of a good, long cry.

I managed to compose myself after a few minutes. Edward was driving, but he still managed to wrap an arm around me.

"Who were they?" I asked.

He growled softly. "I don't know exactly _who_ they were, but they were defiantly with Bob. I heard his name in their minds a lot, and the twin that was in Timisoara with him was there."

"So now Bob has Carlisle, Esme, Emmett, and probably Rosalie," I stated heavily.

He took his eyes off the road for a moment to kiss me. "Look on the bright side- we still have Alice and Jasper waiting. Not to mention the Volturi- Aro probably won't be too happy. Not only did they take Carlisle, but they dared to do it very close to Volterra."

I sighed and sat back in my seat, looking out the window.

When we got back to the Volturi's home, we were immediately pounced on by Alice.

"Don't worry! I've already told Aro, and he's furious, and he wants to send a squad out to get whoever those vampires were, and he's even put his pool plans on hold, and-"

Edward cut her off. "Breathe, Alice, you may enjoy it."

Jasper came into the hallway we were all standing in. I immediately felt my body relax, and my brain's frantic thinking slowed down.

(I was stuck at this point for like a month.)

Next came Aro, who looked livid. You could see when he stepped into the area where Jasper was spreading calm- Aro's face lost some of its rage. But even Jasper couldn't stop Aro.

"The nerve! To kidnap my guests in what is practically our backyard! And now I have to put my pool plans on hold!"

Alice nudged me and giggled. "Never get between Aro and his pool."

I managed a small laugh.

Cauis and Marcus entered the room as well. Cauis looked mad, and Marcus had his usual blank face on.

"Edward, do you mind if I look into your memories? I'd like to see if I can figure out who these people are."

Edward didn't look too excited, but he rested his hand on Aro's. There were a few minutes of silence.

Aro didn't look angry when he was done prodding Edward's mind. He looked worried.

He turned to Marcus and Cauis. "It's them- the ones we fought before," he said.

Cauis also looked worried. But the change in Marcus was amazing- it was like someone had broken the damn that kept his emotions back. First, he appeared agonizingly sad. The sadness ignited into burning anger a moment later. He clenched his fists and growled softly.

I broke the silence, feeling like a complete idiot. "Uh…who's _them_?"

Aro ignored me for a second. "Cauis, take Marcus into the basement. He can break anything in there- it appears we might not be getting a pool yet."

Then he turned to me. "Them is another coven we once fought with, the only coven that brought us to the brink of losing. Them is the coven that killed Marcus' mate."

(Tehe, I almost cut it off here, but I thought after all the waiting you guys deserved an awesome, long chapter.)

This was news to my family. We'd always thought the Volturi to be invincible.

Jasper was of course interested. He'd always liked strategy. "How?" He asked.

Aro looked into the distance. "It was long ago, many centuries ago. We didn't have Alec and Jane yet. They were born, but still infants, and we didn't know about them yet. And nearly losing was a series of small instances of bad luck that created a disaster."

He went on. "They are called the Dominares. They are vampires of course. Their head is named Livia. She is old, but not as old as me or Marcus and Cauis. And their attitude towards humans is very different than ours. They think the humans should know us, and worship us. That humans should fall at our feet, eager to be consumed."

"We don't agree with that. The old ways have worked for ages, and being worshipped would get tiresome. So our coven clashed from time to time. But, after a while, Livia grew tired of being bested. She created many newborns, and attacked us."

"A few guards turned to her side as she promised power. Volterra was not a good place to be human then…we were under siege and had to take our food from the city, and Livia's Dominares were feeding from the country."

"I won't bore the rest of your family with the details, Jasper, but you are welcome to come to my room one day and I shall discuss the rest of the war with you. But it boiled down to a few daring guards on our side sneaking into their camp and killing off key members before being killed themselves. After that, we had hope again. Then, they chanced everything in a major attack of the city at night. It was in this battle, the last battle of the war, that Marcus' mate died."

"She was not gifted like you and I are, but she was a talented fighter. She was cutting a swathe through the Dominares, and they ganged up and took her down. Marcus was too far away to do anything."

"In a perverted way, it was her death that led to our victory. Marcus was so crushed, so mad with sadness and rage, he lost the will to live. He was taking risks no one would take, and they were paying off."

"At the end of the day, the only Dominare left was Livia herself. She was wounded close to death, torn up and half burned. She had been seen fleeing, and we let her go. We were too busy trying to hide the evidence of the fight from the humans, and we didn't think she would cause any trouble. But it appears that she is causing some right now."

Alice spoke up. "So, you think she's been building a force up, and she and Bob's coven have teamed up?"

Aro nodded solemnly. "That's what I think. We're in a better position than we were in the last fight, but it still could be costly."

_Oh great_, I thought. _It's like Vampire World War Two. _

I voiced my observation out loud. Aro shook his head, making his black hair stream.

"Oh no," he said. "It has the possibility to be much worse."


	16. Chapter 16

"I didn't know you were religious, Officer Swann," said an unfamiliar voice

**Midget little chapter, enjoy. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.**

Later that day, things were afoot. In the city, tourists strolled around, sipping coffee to fight the chill wind blowing through the city. They marveled over the antiquity of the buildings.

It was not as peaceful in the Volturi's living areas. Everyone was on high alert. Aro had made an announcement, that, regretfully, the pool was off and war with Livia was in. He also added no one would have to worry about eating any contractors removing pool foundations- Marcus had already smashed the foundations into bits.

Note to self: A great, inexpensive way to demolish stuff is to offer a vampire a chance at revenge. I wonder how much Victoria demolished before putting her efforts into me.

So, my family (what parts of it wasn't captured) and I also got jobs. Alice was to scan the future for any hints of when Olivia would attack and how. I was supposed to be practicing walls so I could defend keys parts of the city if needed. Edward was attempting to find the minds of Olivia's force to find out their strength. He had confided in me that he was also trying to figure out if Bob had teamed up with them, as well as finding Esme, Emmett, Carlisle, and Rosalie. Jasper was instructed to draw up battle plans and keep people from going into hysterics.

Jasper's job eventually got him into an argument with Aro. It went like this:

Jasper wanted to know the more potent powers of the guards so he would incorporate them with the plans. So he asked.

Aro told him a few powers- control over temperature (which isn't very useful with vampires) and the power of illusions. But Aro refused to tell Jasper what Alec's power was. "It is top secret," he said.

"But if it's as potent as I've heard, it's imperative I know what it is and plan for it," Jasper argued back. "One reason the Confederacy lost was some bad planning, though you won't find it mention much in the history books."

Aro waved his hand vaguely. "I'll fit him in."

"I'll fit him in better."

"You will not! I've known Alec since he was human!"

I sighed and tried to block the fight out, which was close to impossible with my hearing. I instead focused on trying to make a small wall in a fountain so the water would squirt some tourists. Eventually, I gave up and just stared out the window.

"Bored?" Edward asked. He didn't look too happy himself.

I nodded. "I wish we the rest of our family was here."

Edward smiled a bit. "Why don't we go and try to get them back?"

I started a bit. I'd never really thought about doing it. After all, they were at best captives of a hostile coven. "Can we? I mean, would we be able to get in then get them out?"

"Well, you can keep us safe with a wall while we go in, and I'll be able to tell when danger's coming. And when we get back to Volterra, we can say we were spying."

I glanced at the fountain, and then compared it with sneaking behind enemy lines.

"Let's go," I agreed.


	17. Chapter 17

"I didn't know you were religious, Officer Swann," said an unfamiliar voice

**I'm pretty sure this is my longest chapter yet. It's five pages in Word. Enjoy! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.**

We informed Alice and Jasper of our decision. They wanted to come too, but we told them it would be better just two of us.

"I can put a decent wall around Edward and me, but trying to cover you two at the same time would be hard," I said.

Alice sighed. "Fine. We'll cover for you. But if I get a vision of you in trouble, I'm telling Aro. Maybe he'll let Marcus loose on Livia and her followers."

With that cheery thought, Edward and I moved out. He listened for the minds of any other vampires, so we got out easily. We did have to steal some black cloaks though- the sun had managed to come out. Luckily, we had passed a full rack of them.

Once in the city, I felt out of place. Everyone was sneaking glances at Edward and me. Not only were we hooded up and silent, but the cloaks were too thin to shield us from the wind. Not that we felt the cold, but humans thought we did.

It was a relief when we reached the outskirts of town and hotwired a Ferrari. It was even yellow.

"Déjà vu," I remarked.

Edward just laughed.

We reached the wildlife preserve where the ambush had occurred. We slowly started to track.

Edward was still way below average, but I had developed into at least a decent tracker. And this trail was easy to follow- there was a large swath of trampled grass and bushes, and plenty of leftover scent to follow.

Soon, Edward was picking up the minds of guards. "The camp is nearby," he announced. He listened further. "I think there's lots of newborns nearby. We'll have to be careful."

I slipped a wall around us. I moved as close to Edward as possible- not only to minimize the size of the wall, which would make it stronger, but for comfort.

He squeezed my hand reassuringly. "It'll be okay," he murmured.

We began the slow process of inching towards the camp. We had to search out gaps in the guards' patrol, and slip through them, and then find a place to hide and get past the next guard.

Luckily, whoever was in charge had assigned newborns to be guards. Their ravenous bodies kept focusing on the warm, blood-filled bodies of nearby animals. We were able to slip by undetected.

I gasped as we climbed a tree. A whole valley lay below us. Part of it was in riot. The side closest to us was filled with newborns. Some seemed to be trying to get away, while other were openly fighting and killing each other. A large fire burned in the center of the fighting. It issued a deep black oily smoke. I gulped.

On the other side of the valley, it was much more peaceful. Many older vampires laid about, watching the newborn fights with something like amusement pasted on their pale faces. A large, elaborate tent dominated their part of the valley. It seemed to be made of red silk, and was embroidered in shimmering gold thread on the side facing us. Many vampires were scurrying into the tent, and then coming out after a minute or so.

At first, I thought the tent might be where my family was being kept. But that made no sense- flimsy silk walls wouldn't stop them.

The tent must be where Livia lived.

Knowing that, I started scanning for a place where prisoners would be kept. Edward nudged me. "Over there," he said. "By the edge."

I saw what he meant. A small building of concrete nestled in some bushes. It wasn't very big, but it would make a good prison if it went underground.

"How do we get there?" I asked. We were almost on the opposite side of the valley. There were guards patrolling around us. And even my wall wouldn't last long if we got into a major fight.

Then I heard yelling.

It was an old, old voice. It was dry and cracking. It came from the red tent. And it seemed to be loud and angry

"You promised me someone that could make the newborns work together!" it screeched. "I agreed, and let you into my force. Now you tell me that he's dead!"

The valley shushed. Some newborns even stopped fighting.

I heard Bob's voice, equally loud and angry. "Livia, I cannot control everything!"

"Then leave my camp. Go get me some humans- I'm hungry." The voice was dripping contempt. A moment later, there was a sound of tearing silk and Bob came flying out of the tent. "Take your entire coven!"

Bob picked himself up and walked over to a small circle of vampires. I recognized his coven. They walked stiffly into the forest.

The newborns resumed fighting.

"Edward," I said urgently. "We can do it now. With Bob gone, no one will recognize us. We can waltz in and say we're feeding the prisoners, then break out our family."

He pursed his lips. "We don't have red eyes."

"We have black," I said. It was true- we hadn't really gotten a chance to eat for a while."

He sighed. "I guess this is the best chance we'll get. But you'll have to take the shield down."

I complied, and we hopped out of the tree when there were no guards nearby. We sauntered through the newborns- they ignored us. They probably thought we outranked them.

We got a few curious glances when we entered the calmer part of the valley, but no one seemed to want to ask questions. Eventually, we found a vampire that looked like he might be social. He also had a small clipboard.

"Hey, we got prisoner-feeding duty today," Edward said. He had dropped his voice a few octaves and added a small growl into it.

The other vampire studied us with burgundy eyes. "Haven't seen you before," he said suspiciously.

"We just joined up not too long ago," Edward replied. Seeing the guard still anxious, he said "But if you want to bother Livia about it while she's in this mood, you're welcome to."

That did it. The guard nodded. "You guys look hungry anyway, and there's always leftovers when you do prisoner duty these days." He made a face. "There are _vegetarians _in there."

I laughed a silly little laugh. "Vegetarians? What is this world coming to? At least there will be leftovers for us."

He nodded and laughed. "That's the spirit. What are your names? I gotta write it down."

I blanked out, but Edward had an answer. "James and Victoria," he said.

_Lovely name choice,_ I thought. _Name us after the vampires that wanted to kill us._

The guard scribbled our names down, then directed us on where to pick up a parcel with food, and told us the passwords to get into the holding cell.

We went to pick up a parcel. _This was someone,_ I thought. _Someone with parents, and friends, and memories…_I made myself stop. I was feeling sick, and it wouldn't go well if I somehow fainted.

Edward seemed to notice my feelings and carried the parcel myself. We went to the part of camp where the holding cell was, and gave the four passwords. (The, Volturi, Suck, were the first three. And the last password was- believe it or not- no password needed. That's what it was.)

Finally, we stepped into the darkness of the cell. There was a flight of steps going down.

Edward and I rushed down the stairs. I tripped on the second to last one, but he caught me.

A low laugh pierced the darkness. "Bella, still tripping?" Emmett said.

"Yes, she still is," Edward replied.

I laughed. Then I fumbled for the little flashlight we'd been given. I turned it on and lit up the cell. It was concrete, with bunk beds on the wall.

They were all there- Carlisle, Esme, Emmett, and Rosalie. They all looked hungry, with eyes blacker than ours, but they were okay.

"Finally," Rosalie said, grinning. "These beds are uncomfortable."

Everyone laughed.

Esme hugged me. "You shouldn't have come, it's dangerous," she scolded Edward and me.

"We couldn't leave you here, Mom," Edward said as he was hugged.

"How's things in Volterra?" asked Carlisle.

"It's preparing for war," Edward said grimly.

"Then we better get out," Carlisle replied.

"Um…how exactly do we do that?" I asked. "It's solid concrete."

Emmett smiled. "Now that you're here, Bella, we'll be out in no time. Just walk around, and you'll eventually trip and break us out of here."

I rolled my eyes. "Haha."

Rosalie got up and pointed at a wall. "I think if we make a hole in the upper part of that wall, we'll get out above ground level, and we'll be hidden from the main part of the valley."

Carlisle nodded. "That's right." He turned to me. "Bella, if you make a shield and bash it to the wall a couple of times, it might work."

I considered the wall. "If I do it, I might not have much energy afterwards."

Edward wrapped his arms around me. "I'll carry you, then."

I laughed. "Fine."

I focused, and got a nice big battering ram of a shield. Then I started ramming. The concrete held at first, but eventually it started to crack…

I was exhausted, but I kept my wall pounding until Esme said gently, "You can stop know Bella. There's a hole."

I nodded faintly and stopped. I felt my feet list off the ground as Edward picked me up and cradled me to his chest.

"Okay, let's go," he said. And we started heading out the hole, towards freedom.


	18. Chapter 18

"I didn't know you were religious, Officer Swann," said an unfamiliar voice

**Introducing…for the first time…Edward's POV! I figured being with Bella wouldn't be much fun, because she's not feeling very good. Bashing that wall took a lot out of her.**

**Has anyone else ever had a problem with Eddie's POV? I found myself forgetting about his mind-reading, so I just gave up on writing that in and added it later on.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.**

**Edward POV**

I studied the hole. It was a few feet straight up, which was no problem for me. However, there was no ledge or anything. If I was to get Bella through it, I'd have to jump up, shove her into the outside world, then jump up again. In this state, (she was now out cold) I refused to leave her alone.

_Jump already,_ Rosalie thought nervously. _We don't have forever._

However, one of the bunk beds was right next to the hole. I leaped lightly onto it and balanced myself. Then I slipped through the hole. It was plenty big for me, but wondered if Emmett could fit.

I turned around and pulled Bella out. The sun had gone behind a cloud. As she laid there, eyes closed, breathing regularly, and not shimmering, she looked almost human for a moment.

I couldn't ponder my Bella too long. I had to help the rest of my family up. They jumped, and then I grabbed their hands and pulled them up. Esme went first, the Rosalie. Emmett was next. On his first try, he jumped too high, cracked the concrete with his head, and swore. Second time, he jumped the right height. He wiggled through the hole- his shoulders just barely fit.

_I'll get Carlisle up, _he thought. _You get Bella._

I left my brother to get Carlisle up, and went back to Bella. The sun had made a comeback, and she sparkled like the diamond I had given her so long ago. I picked her up carefully, as if she were still a breakable human. I pondered which way to hold her, and eventually just held her in front of me, cradled to my chest. She was still as light as ever.

Carlisle was up, and he pointed soundlessly into the deepest part of the forest. The rest of the family and I nodded. And then we ran.

Trees flashed by, and I faintly heard someone yelling from back in the valley. I tried to run even faster, dodging trees and leaping boulders.

Too late, my nose picked up a scent of vampires, and I heard the whisper of thoughts in my head.

We ran right into a clearing where some of Livia's troops were hunting.

And to make it worse, it was Bob's coven.

Before they completely noticed our presence, I darted up into a tree, laying Bella in its branches. She wasn't really in perfect fighting condition. I stayed up with her, observing everything from above.

_Stay up there_, Carlisle commanded. _You can guard Bella, and maybe they won't notice you._

_Oh, yeah man_, Emmett was thinking. _Fight time._

_I hope no one gets hurt. _That was Esme of course.

_Ugh, this no redhead is even more obnoxious then Bob, _Rosalie thought._ Shut up Edward, I can judge enemies if I want to. Yes, I know you're probably listening in._

Bob's coven looked as if they'd had it rough in Livia's camp. They all had black eyes, and there were only five of the. There were three familiar faces: Bob, Emma, and one of the twins. The other two I had only seen in Jasper and Alice's memories: Carlos and a short, stocky vampire with curly red hair. The redhead was named Patrick. Evidently, he had been Irish before being changed.

_Cursed Livia,_ Bob was thinking. _Humiliating me, making me a food bearer…what's that? Ahha! It's __**them!**_

_I can't believe Violet is gone_, mourned the twin. That means she must be Lily. _I blame Bob- we should have just forgotten the coven when they went to Italy instead of getting mixed up in this._

Emma was staring at Bob_. Oh, he's so great. He's so handsome and clever and he knows how to treat a women right._

Carlos was musing_. I wonder if I can convince Livia that she should dispose of Bob, and give me a chance to prove what I'm made of…maybe I can get Emma for myself as well._

Patrick, the redhead, had quite a different train of thought_. I'm so thirsty…it's such a waste that they keep trying to feed the prisoners. Maybe I can get prison duty, get the leftovers…_

Bob's lips curled up, exposing his teeth. Emma, still watching him, imitated the look.

"You," Bob said. "The coven that led me to ruin." His thoughts were, _At least I can get revenge on you all…you'll wish you'd never set me on this path._

Carlisle stepped forward. "Excuse me, we didn't kill anyone in your coven. Something you haven't done either, but it's not out of kindness."

Bob growled, clenching his fists. "Fools. I know you disposed of Robert. Because of that, we were not welcomed to Livia as we'd hoped. She took one twin as amusement- let the newborns kill her to keep them busy. She hasn't fed us. She refuses our talents- _my _talents- and has made us common soldiers. And now, without sufficient forces, she plans to march us to our deaths in Volterra on some idiotic revenge mission." He looked us over, rage and hatred in his eyes. "And it's all because of you."

He gestured one hand wildly, and his coven bent their knees, getting into a fighting stance.

_Fight,_ all their minds sang.

Bob looked over us one last time. "My five against your four, and none of you are talented. Revenge will be mine." The same thought echoed in his head: _Revenge will be mine!_

I felt relieved. He hadn't noticed Bella- or me. Maybe I'd have a chance to wreak havoc using surprise.

Then Bob's coven pounced, and the battle began.


	19. Chapter 19

"I didn't know you were religious, Officer Swann," said an unfamiliar voice

**I loved the response from the last chapter. Lots of e-mails flooded my inbox. **

**On the sadder not, there are probably about two chapters left. The story is almost over. But, the next one will be awesome, I promise.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.**

**Still Edward POV**

I could only follow the fight because I was a vampire myself. Immediately, there were four separate fights going on. Bob attacked Carlisle, Patrick attacked Rosalie (much to her disgust), Emma fought Esme, and Carlos attacked Emmett. Lily leaped into the trees, coming down with some pine branches. She dropped the branches, ripped up some grass, and pulled a lighter out. She kneeled down, and blew. A few seconds later, hungry flames started consuming the branches, and there was soon a full fledged fire going. _Perfect for roasting enemies, _she thought happily.

Then, Lily leaped straight at Emmett. "Emmett, behind you!" Esme screamed, ducking a swipe from Emma. Emmett heard her, and kicked Carlos hard, sending him across the clearing. Then, with speed only a vampire can have, he turned around and grabbed Lily.

I heard the screams, and heard the pain rolling through her thoughts. I cringed and closed my eyes. I only opened them when I heard Emmett think, _Edward, one down. You can see the smoke._

I focused on the rest of the fight. Carlisle was dodging blows from Bob, then running over to try to hit Bob's back. His mind was completely absorbed with the fight, watching Bob's every move, and watching out for any attacks from other enemies.

Esme was fighting Emma, and sneaking glances to make sure everyone else was doing all right in their fights. _I do hope_ _no one gets hurt_, she worried.

Rosalie and Emmett started edging towards each other. I could hear Rosalie as she fought- to my surprise, she was pretending Patrick was her one time fiancé, Royce King.

Emmett was more serious then I'd seen him for a long time, but I could still hear his enjoyment. _This is even better than the newborn fight when Bella was human_, he thought.

As I watched, Emma took a false step and went down. Esme followed her down. Emma got a nasty hit onto Esme, and I winced, hoping she'd be okay.

My fears were unfounded. A few moments later, there was more smoke issuing from the fire.

As Esme rushed to help Carlisle, Emmett got close enough to grab Patrick. He pounced, and they were rolling, fighting. Carlos went to the aid of Patrick, wrenching Emmett off of him. Patrick leaped to his feet, and seeing the odds weren't for him anymore, he ran off into the woods. _No, I don't want to die_, his thoughts screamed.

Now Carlos was one on two. "Traitor! Coward!" he screamed at the tiny blur that was Patrick. Those were his last words.

Rosalie and Emmett looked at each other. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Emmett asked. His thoughts were something I don't really feel like repeating.

Rosalie's thoughts were going in the same line. "You look really good, considering we've just been through hell and badly dressed vampires," she replied.

And then they started kissing.

_Idiots,_ I thought. Bob was still alive, after all…

Bob's eyes widened as he saw the two of them. _Wow, even Emma had the sense not to do that…but I'll take it._

Dodging Carlisle and Esme, he leaped for Rosalie and Emmett.

He would have probably succeeded in killing at least one of them if I hadn't been there. I launched myself out of the tree, hitting him and knocking him away from my siblings. Now we rolled, and I picked frantically at his mind, trying to figure out his next move. But he seemed to be acting on instinct, and I had no advantage.

I tried to kick him off, but he grabbed onto me, and we flew, eventually crashing into a tree. (I later found out the tree had ended up with a big crack.)

He tried to scratch at my face, but I rolled over, crushing him beneath me. Now he kicked me, and I didn't manage to get a grip on him.

I fell, and I heard the rest of my family trying to come to my aid. But now Bob was pouncing, and it would be too late.

_Sorry, Bella_, I thought faintly.

I saw Bob's glaring face, and I blinked when I saw him smash into an invisible wall. He crumpled, and Emmett and Carlisle reached him, tearing him and throwing him into the fire.

I got up, and was set upon by a white-brown blur. At first I thought it was another enemy, but when the other vampire hugged me, I realized it was just a shaking Bella. "Shh," I said, hugging her back. "It's okay." I brushed the hair from her forehead and kissed her.

"What were you thinking, almost getting killed!" she asked. More like yelled, really.

"I'm sorry, Bella love, but I had to save Rosalie and Emmett. Very few can kiss uninterrupted on a battlefield."

The two of them looked sheepish.

Bella stood there for a minute. Then she smiled. "On the bright side, for once I saved you, instead of the other way around."

I smiled, because she was very right.


	20. Chapter 20

"I didn't know you were religious, Officer Swann," said an unfamiliar voice

**Can you say long chapter? More like a monster. It's over 2000 words, and spans 7 pages. And it contains the big fight scene! I tried to write it well, but I'll let you be the judge.**

**And a new thing suggested by ****katiebee93: ****A look back at last chapter. When we last left the Cullens, they had just ended a fight with Bob's coven after jail-breaking Esme, Carlisle, Rosalie, and Emmett. After Bob attempted to attack a kissing Rosalie and Emmett, Bella ended up saving Edward. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.**

**Bella POV**

I strolled around Volterra, cloaked in black. I was careful to keep myself completely covered- there were a few rays of sunset painting the road I was on. Edward was next to me. It had been one week since the two of us had rescued Emmett, Rosalie, Esme, and Carlisle.

After the incident with Bob's coven, Edward, with a smile on his lips, instructed us to run to the nearest road. And sure enough, there was Alice driving and Jasper sitting shotgun in a neat car I'd never seen before. It was built like a sleek minivan. Even I could tell its engine had a sports car-like sound to it, but it had three rows of seats. The sight of Aro pouting in the middle row completed the strange look. "I found this in the Volturi's garage," Alice had said. "They use it for transporting humans sometimes. And I thought you guys might need an escape car."

"Why couldn't I ride shotgun? Or drive?" Aro moaned.

We had all climbed into the odd car. Edward, Rosalie, Emmett, and I sat in the way back. Carlisle and Esme sat in the middle with Aro, Carlisle taking the middle seat with only a small frown.

We'd made it back to Volterra with no difficulties, though Carlisle didn't seem happy with the seating arrangements.

From that time, there had been a constant patrol on Volterra's street. Edward and I had just taken over for Jane and Alec.

(By the way, Aro still hadn't told Jasper Alec's power. I really wished Aro would cave and say it, because Jasper had begun accidentally channeling frustration through all of us.)

"Do you think they'll attack soon?" I asked Edward quietly.

His black eyes stared off into space. We hadn't been able to hunt recently. "I'm pretty sure they will. From what I saw of the elder vampires' minds, they had been told the attack might happen anytime."

I sighed. I knew that we wouldn't be able to leave Volterra until after the attack- Aro, Marcus, and Cauis weren't about to let eight potential warriors go easily, especially when four of them where gifted.

We strolled through the dimming city, alert for any signs of hostile vampires pouring through the walls. We stopped at a small pond at the edge of the city where we could watch over the outside too. I picked up a few stones and skipped them over the pond's surface. I had gotten good at this since being changed- I could skip a stone all the way across the pond.

Edward tensed next to me. "Do you see something?" I said automatically.

He shook his head. "I swear I just heard one of the other patrols raise the alarm."

I stopped skipping rocks and listened. Sure enough, I could hear the sound of one of the bells we all carried ringing. I looked at Edward, and he nodded. We both started running towards the sound at a slightly faster than human pace.

We found the patrol ringing the bell- it was Felix and Gianna, who had been changed a few years after I had. Already, the other patrol, which was Carlisle and Esme, and Marcus, Cauis, and Aro were there. We joined them in studying the mass of people moving towards us. They glittered when the light hit them. Near the rear of the mass, I could just make out a red tent.

"They're coming," Cauis said. "The Dominares are almost here."

Marcus was tracing shapes the rest of us couldn't see. "I can tell most of their commanders," he said.

Aro turned to Felix. "Sound the full alarm, and do Code 6 for the city."

Ten minutes later, you could almost taste the coming battle in the air. The whole Volturi guard had been assembled at the place the first sighting had been. Humans had been safely corralled into their houses by a series of phone calls from 'police' that informed them there would be gang fights that night. There were advised to stay in the safest part of their houses, lock the doors, and let the authorities deal with it.

Nervously, I realized the authorities were us.

Some of the guards listened to orders Marcus gave them, then melted into the shadows outside of the city. I later learned they had sabotaged Livia's troops while they marched towards us, taking out leaders key commanders.

Orders were issued swiftly. The rest of the family and I were in one of the reserve groups. We retreated deeper into the city. When the fight came to us, we'd use the advantage of surprise.

"Don't worry," Emmett boomed as we hid inside some empty trashcans. "This is just like when we fought Victoria's army."

I wrinkled my nose at the smell of old trash. "Lovely advice, but I was human then. I can't even remember that clearly."

Edward wrapped an arm around me before I knelt into my can. "If they have bright red eyes, just don't let them get their arms around you. And if they're a regular crimson, use your walls. And I'll be by you most of the time."

"Thanks," I said as I knelt in and replaced the lid above me.

We waited in the cans. About five minutes after we hid, I could make out the sounds of battle. 10 minutes after that, the battle came to us.

I heard screeching as someone was torn apart. In the trace can next to me, I heard Edward tap twice, lightly. The signal to attack.

I burst out of my trashcan, destroying it in the process. About five Volturi guards were fighting against seven of Livia's troops. Up close, it was easy to tell the two sides apart. Livia's army seemed to be in uniforms of royal purple.

My family came into the fight. Caught between two enemy forces, Livia's troops were finished off easily. We caught three of them on our first few moments, and the other four the Volturi guards finished when they turned to face us. Luckily, there was a fire nearby- some guards had been told to start fires in key spots.

From then on, we split into smaller groups to aid the small battles breaking out everywhere. We paired off with our spouses, and the Volturi guards went back to the front line.

Edward and I were following our ears to a battle when we were set upon by four of Dominares. Three were newborns, with one older commander. I was set on by two newborns, while the remaining newborn and the commander went after Edward.

They came on me from either side, intending to catch me between them. I dropped into a kneeling position so their arms went above me, and losing my balance, fell into one, knocking them over. Luckily, my flailing newborn knocked over the one attacking Edward…I was able to dismantle them quickly, moving fast, though the second one managed to get up before I pounced on him.

_Clumsiness saves the day_, I thought wryly.

The last newborn snuck up on me. Hearing him, I whipped around, throwing a wall at him. He was knocked off balance. He was gone too.

Edward and the commander were locked in a lethal dance. They both moved as lithe white blurs. The commander was a good fighter, but Edward had the advantage. The defender would decide to make an attack, and Edward would be in the perfect place to defend then launch an attack himself.

I leaped up onto a building, and then jumped down onto Edward's opponent. Snarling, he tried to dislodge me. It was a distraction Edward needed- we were soon moving on to find the next battle.

The next one wasn't small scale. We found Rosalie and Emmett as we turned a corner.

"Everyone's being told to come to the main line," Rosalie said. Her hair had fallen out of the ponytail it had been earlier.

"Yeah," Emmett said, sounding pleased. "Front line sounds fun."

Edward and I rolled our eyes, and joined them as we headed towards the front line.

It was utter chaos there. The Volturi clashed with the Dominares, each side fighting more as one than as separate beings. Especially our side- and I quickly found out why.

As we neared the battlefield, I found myself feeling like I was being drawn into one huge mind. I suddenly felt where a fighter was needed, what to do, felt the moves other fighters were doing.

This must be Alec's power. He was making the Volturi into one, a seamless machine.

"Is this what it's like to be in a werewolf pack?" I asked Edward.

"Pretty close," he said.

"Dude," Emmett said. "Imagine what Alec could do if he played video games with us!"

Rosalie smacked him.

We soon plunged into the fight. This was fighting like I'd never been in before, but it seemed so easy.

I clawed at the grinning blond male in front of me, then ducked so the vampire behind me- a Volturi guard whose name I didn't even know- leaped forward. I made my hands into claws and tore up half the vampire Edward was fighting next to me.

Later, I ended up dueling another vampire alone. She found a small opening in our lines and darted through. The aura Alec was exuding compelled me to follow her- but no one else did.

She realized I was following her, and turned into an alley. She faced me, snarling. As soon as she was done turning, she pounced at me.

I dropped and shot my hands up, grabbing her wrists. I misjudged just how fast she was going, and she dragged me forward with her. She rolled in mid air and hit the ground before me, and tried to flip me away.

_No other way_, I thought, and made a wall for me to slam into. It hurt, but it stopped me. I braced myself against it and leaped back onto the other vampire, pinning her down. She struggled, and kicked me in the stomach, straight up.

I fell clumsily, landing on my back. I got up and chased after her, only to find the wall I'd made blocking her way.

She seemed to get I had made it and tried to get to the back of the alley, where she might be able to jump onto the roof.

She would advance, trying to batter me aside, and I would leap at her, giving her the choice of losing a limb or taking a step back. She usually took the latter option, but she soon kept driving past me, hoping to sacrifice a limb for freedom.

It was a mistake- she sacrificed much more then a limb. I gathered up the pieces, dumped them into a fire, and went back to the main battlefield.

We were suffering much fewer casualties, but it seemed Livia had much more fighters.

My whole family was there, and I fell into line with them.

"Sorry, I couldn't follow you," Edward said. His eyes were filled with relief that I was safe.

"It's okay," I said.

The fighting stretched on. Carlisle was taken back to the Volturi headquarters after he suffered a nasty wound on the right arm that needed time to heal up. Esme went with him.

All of a sudden, Emmett grinned crazily. "Sorry for this Bella."

"What?" I asked, nervous.

"Don't worry, you'll be better than fine after this," Alice said, dodging a strike.

"Emmett, no," Edward began.

Emmett all of a sudden bundled me up, and threw me like a football.

I went hurtling through space. At least Emmett hadn't thrown me upside down.

Then my target became clear. I was heading towards the red tent.

I hit it right in the middle, toppling it off the litter it was on. A curse came from it. Instinctively, I got up, retreated from the tent, and put a wall around me.

Then Livia came out.

She was, I guess, still like she had been since she crawled away from Volterra, years ago. She was missing an arm and half a leg. She seemed as if she had been half-burned. Her brown hair was wisps on her head, and her burgundy eyes burned with the same light Bob's had had, but brighter.

If I were human, I would have fainted.

Then Edward came flying as well, and hit smack into Livia. She well forward, and hit my wall…and then she crumbled. She appeared to just turn into ash, as if my wall had crumbled her body. An eerie silence filled the battlefield as the Dominares realized their leader was gone.

After that, the battle was easy. Most of the vampires fled, and those that fought were taken down. Alec's power, it seemed, had grown more potent. Or maybe Livia had exercised some power over her troops, and now that she was gone, it was gone too.

When the sun was just starting to paint the eastern horizon pink, the last battle ended. All that was left from the battle was a few broken walls, and fires spewing oily black smoke. The Battle of Volterra was over.

Emmett lifted my hand. "The Bella Baron!" he crowed. Rosalie laughed, a strange sound on the battlefield.

I glared at him. "You could have warned me."

Edward wrapped an arm around me. I could tell it would be there for a while. "What possessed you to hurl Bella into the midst of the enemy?"

Emmett shrugged. "It worked."

Jasper was staring moodily at Alec. "Sheesh, Aro could have just told me."

Alice patted his arm. "It's okay, Jazz. We know for next time."

"I hope there's no next time," I said.

"I agree," Edward said.

As I looked around, I realized we'd all come out alive. We had a few scratches, and of course Carlisle had the arm wound. But my family was okay. And soon, we could go home.

_Home_ never sounded better.


	21. Chapter 21

"I didn't know you were religious, Officer Swann," said an unfamiliar voice

**Okay, this is the last chapter. You can cry, if you wish. (Just kidding.) This serves as an epilogue, and just a way to wrap up the story. I hope you enjoyed reading it, and kudos for reading it to the end. I might write some one shots and stuff, but it might be a while before I write a long story like this again.**

**Some stats of the completed story: It spans 55 pages on Word, and is 19,514 words, not counting author's notes.**

**A look back at last chapter: When we last left the Cullens, they just had finished up the Battle of Volterra. Due to some throwing by Emmett, Bella and Edward were the ones to accidentally defeat Livia.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.**

**Bella POV**

One month later

It had been one month since the Battle of Volturi. We had returned to our home three weeks ago.

Aro had insisted we stay for at least a bit. "We need some reinforcements, in case the remnants of Livia's coven come back," he insisted. No one mentioned that half the guard was chasing down afore mentioned runaways.

The Volturi were, unhappily, touting Edward and I as the heroes of the battle.

"That's nonsense," I'd complained. "All I did was get thrown by Emmett, and put up a wall."

"And all I did was slam into Livia when Emmett threw me," Edward added.

Aro laughed. "But, Bella, your walls were too much for Livia. Her body has been quite fragile after her first attack here. When she hit your wall, it was like she was _allergic _to it. And her whole body just turned into ash. And Edward, without your push, she would have never fallen into Bella's wall."

There was just one nasty side effect of being heroes- Aro was trying even harder to get us onto the guard.

"Please, not just you two, but the whole family could stay. We could all have so much fun, and cure you of your aversion to human blood…" He kept step with us as we took our bags and piled them into the sports minivan.

Carlisle shook his head. "We'll have to reject that generous offer, Aro. How could you handle eight new vampires, especially with Marcus out of his emotional coma?"

It was true- Marcus wasn't a zombie anymore. It seemed, though, he was trying to make up for centuries of lost emotions as fast as he could. If you ever have a desire to see a centuries-old vampire skipping around, throwing flowers at everyone while singing…just join the Volturi, and you'll see it every day.

After we got into the car and were well on our way to Rome, Jasper spoke. "Good thing we're leaving. Marcus's emotions were making me nauseous."

We all laughed.

Soon afterwards, Alice got a vision. She and Edward started laughing.

"What?" Rosalie demanded.

If Alice were human, she'd be wiping tears of mirth from her eyes. "Tomorrow, Marcus is going to be going around kissing everyone."

The car shook with our laughter.

Life went on as usual once we got home. Esme tended flowers, Carlisle went back to volunteering at the local hospital, and Alice and Jasper went shopping. Rosalie tinkered with cars, and Emmett played video games, bemoaning the fact that Alec had turned down an offer to come and play as well. Edward and I spent a lot of time together, whether it was hunting, reading, or just lying in a meadow watching clouds go by.

Then, it all shattered.

Edward and I came back from hunting to find a family meeting in process, Alice heading it. "Oh, good, the two last lovebirds are here," she trilled, then went on. "It has come to my attention that we never did really get our game of tag, which is a depressing thought. It would have been sooo fun. So I decided to hold it _this_ week. Hopefully there will be no covens of territorial vampires to wreck this game."

I groaned.

"Don't be so negative, Bella," Alice said, tossing me a cell phone. I would have dropped it unless Edward had caught it for me.

After everyone got cell phones, Alice announced the 'it' couple. "Bella and Edward, you guys were never prisoners, so we've decided to give you the honor of being it."

"That's a dubious honor," Esme said mildly. "And if I leave my flowers for too long, they'll all die again."

Alice considered that, and then got a vision. "Don't worry, it'll be rainy. Your plants will live."

No one had any excuses of why we shouldn't play, so the other couples packed and left the house quickly. So there was one good side of this- Edward and I got some alone time in the house.

After the nine hours had passed, we bundled into Edward's car- he still had a Volvo, but a newer one.

"Where should we go?" I asked.

He thought for a minute. "I think Emmett and Rosalie were going on a road trip to Alaska. Shall we follow them?"

"A road trip sounds good," I agreed. So we set off to Alaska.

But first, I typed out a text message and sent it to everyone. It read:

'B and E are now it.'

Edward looked at the screen and laughed as I sent it. He took a hand off the steering wheel and clasped mine in it. And so, together, holding hands, and laughing, we headed off to Alaska, enjoying one minute of an eternity together.


End file.
